The Man in Black
by RangerFromTheNorth
Summary: Alex Drake is a transfer student from the Salem Witches' Institute in Oregon. Her father's work brings her to England, where she begins at Hogwarts as a seventh year Gryffindor. There's one boy in her year who intrigues her. He's different than everyone else, and his name is Sirius Black.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: None of the Harry Potter world belongs to me, only the plot and Alex are mine.**

* * *

"Are you _sure_ you want to do this, Alex?"

I looked patiently at my mom. "Don't worry, Mom, I'll be fine." She looked unconvinced. "_Really._"

Mom smiled at me and hugged me to her, hard. "Good luck at Hogwarts, Alex."

"Thanks, Mom. See you at Christmas." I lugged my suitcase (they call suitcases trunks here, isn't that weird?) towards the train tracks.

I only looked back once, when I heard Mom yell, "And don't come back all British on me!"

I grinned despite myself. That was just like my mom.

I surveyed the train station, taking in the scene. Dad had told me that to get to Platform 9 ¾, I had to run at the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. I didn't like this idea much. If I chose the wrong barrier, I would be running into a metal wall. And, knowing my behavior under pressure, this was quite likely.

I strolled casually over the the barrier and set my suitcase a few inches from the barrier. No one was paying attention to me, so I rolled my suitcase forward, expecting to feel it bump the barrier. Nothing happened. I opened one eye and gasped - my suitcase was only half there. The metal barrier shimmered and flickered, winking at me.

Well. I guess it worked.

Now reassured, I walked through the barrier, involuntarily closing my eyes as I passed through.

And so I entered Platform 9 ¾ for the first time.

I ogled the platform. Several people stood scattered around the platform, but the majority of the crowd didn't seem to have appeared yet. A scarlet steam engine emblazoned with the words "The Hogwarts Express" waited on the tracks.

Now I thought about my options. I could wait here on the platform, or I could go ahead and board the train. It would be rather pointless to wait, seeing as I didn't know anyone. Plus, if I waited too long all of the compartments would be full and I would have to ask if I could sit with someone. Hmm...definitely better to find a compartment now.

I looked woefully up the steps. I didn't think I could lift my trunk and not break my back at the same time.

I put my palm to my forehead. Of course! I was, as of two weeks ago, of age! I could use magic whenever I wanted! "_Wingardium leviosa,_" I said, grinning. My trunk floated up the stairs and led the way down the train. I glanced through the windows as I went. Most of the compartments were empty, but a few were full of chattering girls.

I finally decided to just pick a random compartment. All of them were the same, after all. I levitated my suitcase into the overhead rack and sat down, watching the station quickly fill up with excited students and anxious parents. Within a half hour, the station had gone from empty to full to almost empty. There were just a few parents still standing around when I felt the first tug of movement.

I had just gotten out a book, resigned to spending the rest of approximately six hours alone, when someone slid my compartment door open. It was a redheaded girl with pale skin, green eyes, and a suitcase bigger than mine.

"Hi...mind if I sit here? The rest of the train is full," she said with an accent. It was British, but not nearly as strong as some I'd heard.

I didn't mind, so I told her that.

"Thanks," she said gratefully.

I smiled. "No problem. I'm Alex, by the way."

"Lily Evans. Are you from here?" Lily asked me hesitantly. "It's just that I haven't seen you before, and you have an accent...it sounds almost American."

"Well, that's how it should sound," I replied. "I'm new at Hogwarts. My dad's job transferred him. We moved from the US."

Lily looked suitably intrigued. "Really? So is there a magic school in America?"

I nodded. "I went to the Salem Witches' Institute. In Oregon."

"That's cool. So what year are you going to be in?"

"Seventh. You?"

Lily beamed. "I'm in seventh year too! We'll probably have classes together. Do you know which house you'll be in?"

I crinkled my brow, trying to remember. "Dumbledore sorted me this summer...I think it was something like Griffinton?"

"Gryffindor?" Lily verified.

It struck a chord in me. "Yeah, that was it."

"I'm in Gryffindor, too. I can show you around, if you want," Lily offered.

"That would be great. Thanks."

Lily shifted in her seat. "Now, tell me more about the school you went to before."

"Well, it was called The Salem Witches' Institute. It was an all girls school. It was pretty small. There were about three hundred students, and it was pretty much like a regular school except what they taught. It was in a city, not the middle of nowhere like Hogwarts, so students had the option of boarding, but if they lived closer, we could Floo to school. I lived close enough to walk. There weren't any houses like at Hogwarts. It's a stone building, relatively squarish, and light gray."

"Do you miss it?" Lily asked quietly.

I had to think for a minute. Did I miss the Institute? "Not yet, but I probably will in a couple months."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"My brother -Will- is two years younger than I am."

I'm ordinarily a quiet person, so I was quite relieved when I found Lily was so easy to talk to. Strike that. I'm not a quiet person, but I only say things worth saying. For example, I'm not going to shout out 'I love chocolate' if I just spent a hundred dollars on a bag of deluxe dark chocolate. It would be obvious. Why would I buy it if I didn't like it? There's no need for me to tell people that. They can open their eyes and see it for themselves.

She didn't seem like a terribly shallow, gossipy person, and we were able to have some decent, meaningful conversations throughout the six hour train ride. She told me a bit about Hogwarts and herself. Then we discovered we both loved reading.

"_Gone With the Wind_," I challenged.

"Read it. _Pride and Prejudice._"

"Yep. _The Ditchdigger's Daughter's_"

"No. What's it about?"

I went on to explain one of my favorite books, and then we continued with our challenge.

"_The Raid and Other Stories_."

Lily grinned. "I love that. Which is your favorite story?"

"How much land does a man need?"

"It's awesome," Lily agreed.

We reminisced over our favorite books for a while longer, and then quoted some poetry. We ended up laughing on the floor after shouting "Christabel" at each other at the top of our lungs. Rather ridiculous situation to be in.

But I decided that I liked Lily.

* * *

**A/N: Please review if you like it - or don't. They're what gives me the incentive to write more. **

**If you _do_ like it, I have two other stories: The Last Year and Girlfriend Will Do Just Fine.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Man in Black**

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: None of the Harry Potter world is mine. Only the plot and Alex are of my own creation.**

A couple hours into the train ride, I was nibbling on a chocolate frog as Lily ranted to me about a boy named James Potter.

"...he's positively awful! He's been asking me out since fourth year, and it's utterly ridiculous! Shouldn't it have sunk into his thick head by now that I'm not the least bit interested? He's an arrogant prick and a self-centered, egotistical, pompous, spoiled brat and he's-"

"Standing right behind you?" a deep male voice cut in.

We both turned automatically. A handsome boy with black, jaw length hair stood in the door of the compartment. At his side stood another boy, lanky, with messy black hair, glasses and hazel eyes.

I was reasonably sure that the one with long hair was the one who had spoken.

Lily narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing here, Potter?" So this was the infamous James Potter.

"Last name basis, is it, Evans? Alright." He shrugged. "Peter had told me that you were alone, so we were just checking if you wanted company." Hmm. Doesn't sound like a self-centered prick.

I hadn't intended to say anything, but I did anyway. I raised an eyebrow. "Does it look like she's alone?"

"Not exactly..." James trailed off sheepishly.

"Do I know you?" The other boy cut in rudely, evidently trying to intimidate me. Well, I wasn't easily intimidated.

"No," I said bluntly.

"Are you American?" James asked me curiously.

"Well, I most certainly am not British." The boys looked at me oddly. I sighed. "Yes, I'm American."

"Then what are you doing here?" James' friend said rudely (again. I wonder if he has any manners).

"The real question is what you're doing here, Sirius Black," Lily interrupted.

Phew. I wasn't sure what I would have said to that one.

"Moral support for James, here." He grinned easily at Lily, shaking his shaggy hair out of his face.

James plopped down next to Lily, draping an arm around her shoulders. "So, Lily-flower, how was your summer?"

"Better before you wandered along," Lily grumbled, but I noticed she didn't remove James' arm from around her shoulders.

Sirius stretched out on my side of the compartment, crossing his arms behind his head and closing his eyes. I took the opportunity to study him. His dark, shaggy hair reached his jawbones. He had pronounced cheekbones and a handsome face with a light shadow of stubble over his jaw. He was also about six feet tall.

I turned my attention back to Lily and James. James was pestering her to come sit with them- who are 'them' I wondered?- and Lily was trying to get him out of our compartment. But despite Lily's protests, it was at least a half hour before they made their way out.

As he slid open the door, James turned back to me. "What's your name?" Hmmph. About time he noticed I was there.

"Alex," I replied, standing up. He put out his hand, and I shook it.

"James Potter," he said, then bounded out of the compartment. I turned to Sirius.

His fingers were cool as he grasped my hand in a quick shake. "Sirius Black." And then he, too, bounded out of the compartment, banging the door behind him.

* * *

"I'm assuming that was the infamous James Potter?"

"Who else?" Lily grumbled, but a small smile played around the corners of her mouth.

"You're smiling," I accused.

"Why would I be smiling?"

"Maybe you actually do like James Potter," I suggested.

She looked stricken. "Of course I don't!"

I shrugged. "Alright. He seemed okay to me, though."

"He is sometimes," Lily confessed, fiddling with her skirt. "But then sometimes he's just awful, and I can't stand to be around him."

"So if he was always like he was now, you'd go out with him."

"Probably," Lily whispered.

I changed the subject. "What about that other guy?"

Lily seemed glad to talk about something else. "His name's Sirius Black. He's Potter's best friend, along with Remus and Pettigrew."

"Remus? Pettigrew?" I questioned.

"Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. The four of them are always together, and they call themselves the Marauders. They pull these huge pranks. They always get caught, though," she added as an afterthought.

My two best friends at the Institute were twins, and they were pranksters too, so I was immediately interested.

"What type of things do they do?"

Lily grimaced. "Anything that'll cause a lot of mayhem. They always do something at the Welcoming Feast, so you'll see soon."

"Give me an example."

Lily grimaced again. "On Valentine's Day last year, they put love potions into specific people's food. It was chaos. Half of the school was snogging and a few people even lost their clothes."

I gasped. "All of them?"

"Thankfully not. The potion wasn't quite strong enough for that."

I cleared my throat. "My best friends pulled a lot of pranks, too, but nothing of that scale."

Lily went to respond, but the train began to slow suddenly. "We're here," Lily announced.

"Hey," I asked suddenly. "How many seventh year girls' dorms are there?"

"Two. Why?"

"Just wondering if we were going to be in the same dorm."

"They're alphabetical- first half of the alphabet in one and the second half in the other. What's your last name?"

"Drake. And you're Evans..."

"So we'll be together."

I grinned. "Nice. How many other girls are there in the dorm?"

"Three. I'll introduce you later."

The train came to a complete stop and I levitated my suitcase (I refuse to call it a trunk) from the rack.

"Leave that," Lily said. "They're delivered directly to the dorms."

I nodded and floated it back up.

Lily and I made our way down the train and onto the station. Lily kept up a constant chatter. I had to strain to hear her through everyone else's voices. "That's Hogsmeade, the only wizarding village in the United Kingdoms, third years and above can come here once or twice a month. Popular for couples. And these carriages will take us to Hogwarts..."

"How far is it?" I interrupted.

"Maybe ten minutes by carriage, at least a half hour if you're walking, though."

Lily spewed out the history of the village as we hopped up in a carriage. I tuned her out.

* * *

"And behold," Lily said dramatically, "the Great Hall."

Four long wooden tables covered in empty plates and bowls stretched across the hall. Another shorter table, presumably the teachers' was in the front of the room. The ceiling rose up far above our heads, and was covered in stars and scudding clouds.

"It's enchanted to look like the sky outside," Lily told me, sensing my awe.

"Wow...which table is Gryffindor?"

Lily motioned to the one of two in the middle. "The closer one."

I trailed Lily to the table and took a seat next to her. I sat in silence for a moment, taking in my surroundings.

Then a tall woman with strict features, glasses, and gray hair in a tight bun stepped to the from to the room. She set a three-legged stool down, and on top of it placed a worn-looking wizards' hat. "Quiet, please." The room was silent in an instant. She peered at a long piece of parchment. "Akers, Jackson," she called.

A tall (for an eleven-year old) boy swaggered forward and, sitting on the stool, jammed the hat on his head. "HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat screamed out. It continued in this manner until all the first years were sorted. Then the teacher- "McGonagall" Lily whispered- sat down and Professor Dumbledore stood up.

He spread his arms. "Let the feast begin!" Food filled the dishes, and I loaded up my plate.


	3. Chapter 3

**Man in Black**

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: None of the Harry Potter world is mine. Only Alex and the plot belong to me.**

* * *

I leaned back in my seat and pushed my plate slightly forward. I didn't want my first night at Hogwarts to be spent moaning of an over-full stomach, so I was careful not to eat as much as I wanted.

A moment later, Dumbledore rose again, gazing down at us through his silver half moon spectacles. "Now that we are all fed and watered, I would like to remind you of a few things. The Forbidden Forest is, as suggested by its name, forbidden. We have a new caretaker, Argus Filch-" he motioned to a man in a long brown coat skulking by the doors- "and due to Davy Gudgeon's...incident...with the Whomping Willow last year, students may not go near it. Prefects, please lead the first years to your common rooms. Good night."

I blinked in surprise. The principal at the Institute had a tendency to make long, formal speeches full of fancy words while managing not to tell us anything we didn't already know. Dumbledore, it appeared, was different.

"Short speech," I commented.

"Oh, yes," Lily said and pushed back her chair. "The longest speech I've ever heard Dumbledore make was barely longer than that."

"I shall take that as a compliment, Miss Evans. Now, if you please, I would have a quick word with Miss Drake."

Behind us stood none other than the esteemed headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Lily blushed. "I'll wait for you," she said quickly, then hurried off to talk to another girl.

I followed Dumbledore out of the Great Hall into the Entrance Hall, where he turned and looked at me. I tried to suppress a shiver. Although very kind, his eyes were a piercing, almost blinding pale blue. I felt like he could see straight through me.

"You have already met Miss Evans?"

"Yes." I've never managed to bring myself to say sir or ma'am, not matter if I was talking to the president of the US (which, coincidentally, I had) or a teacher. I wondered belatedly now if I perhaps should have, but I doubted I could force the word from between my lips. Yep, definitely inherited my grandpa's pride.

"I simply wanted to make sure that you had arrived in one piece."

"I'm fine."

"And also to give you the Potions book which you ordered. It arrived this morning." He pulled a thick black textbook from somewhere in his voluminous robes and handed it to me.

I grinned, frankly quite relieved. I'd been worried when the book wasn't delivered to my house. "Thank you."

"You are very welcome, Miss Drake. I will let you get back now. I am sure Miss Evans is waiting."

I nodded. "Goodnight."

"And welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Drake," Dumbledore called over his shoulder as he swept through a doorway, robes rustling merrily behind him.

I headed back into the Great Hall. I scanned the room, and the faces of the few people still sitting at the tables or clustered around.

Lily was chatting to a boy with brown hair when I walked in. I went to call her name from across the hall, and then her voice raised angrily.

"What on earth did I do that made you think I was interested in you?"

"Well...Potter..." the boy stuttered, surprised.

"No, I don't like him but I don't like you either! Find yourself some other girl to drag into a broom closet!" Lily whirled around and stalked toward me. "Come on, let's go."

I hurried after her. "Who was that?"

"Another one of Hogwarts' less than perfect male specimens. Amos Diggory. He doesn't care about a real relationship, just snogs a girl for a while and then dumps her or lets her find him cheating."

"Tell me, Lily," I say, only half joking. "Are there any decent boys at Hogwarts at all?"

Lily laughed. "Thankfully, yes."

"Only a few."

All the walls in the castle were thick, rough stone. Moving paintings hung randomly, and giant stone staircases rose up above. Even though I'd seen it already, Hogwarts was definitely impressive. I tried to remember the way, but everything looked almost exactly the same.

Lily finally stopped before a portrait of an insanely fat woman covered in a straining pink dress. She held a bottle of wine in one hand and waved at us with the other. "Password?" she giggled.

"Mermaid flukes," Lily said, then added to me, "Make sure you remember it. She won't let you in without it."

"Mermaid flukes," I repeated to myself.

The portrait swung open and Lily and I clambered inside. Lily was silent while I looked around. Plush red carpet covered the floor. Cushy black couches and armchairs were spread throughout the room, along with several coffee tables. The common room was full of noise. Clusters of students were catching up after three months of separation. A wide marble staircase led up a floor, then divided into two narrower staircases -boys' and girls' dorms, probably.

I followed Lily up the stairs, trailing my hand on the glossy wooden banister.

"If a guy tries to come up the stairs, it turns into a slide so they can't get up," LIly informed me.

I grin. "I'm liking this place already."

Lily smiled back. "But we can get to the boys' dorms."

"Have you ever been?" I ask, glancing sidelong at her.

She blushed lightly. "Get your head out of the gutter."

At the top of the stairs was a hallway with a row of doors on each side. Lily opened the door marked 7A.

The place where I would spend most of a year had wood floors, stone walls, and red curtains. Five beds were lined up beneath a few windows.

Three girls lounged on three of the beds. "Hi, girls! How was your summer?" Lily hugged each of them in turn. Then she faced me. "These are Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Meadowes, and Marlene MacDonald."

"I'm Alex."

"You're not from here, are you?" Dorcas asked curiously.

"Transferred from Salem Witches' Institute in Oregon."

"That's in America, right?"

Honestly. What does my accent say? "Yep," I answered instead.

They asked me questions and we chatted for a few minutes before Lily dragged me to meet the other seventh year girls.

I liked the girls in Dorm A much less. They were rather stuck up and snobby. Alice Prewett, however, seemed very nice. She was a pretty, round-faced girl with blond-brown hair. I hoped we might be good friends in time.

And THEN Lily dragged me down into the common room to introduce me to MORE people.

"I have an idea," I suggested. "Why don't we just sit here and wait for people to come to us?" I sat down without waiting for her to answer.

She pointed discreetly across the room at a tall boy with light brown hair. He was sitting next to James and Sirius. "That's Remus Lupin, one of the more decent guys in our year."

He turned, seeming to sense our eyes on him, and smiled. He said something to James and Sirius, and they all stood up and headed over to where we were sitting.

Lily hugged Remus, and then brushed a quick kiss on his cheek. I couldn't help noticing that although James' position hadn't allowed him to see the kiss, he was still watching Remus jealously.

After he let go of Lily, he turned immediately to me, introducing himself and stretching out his hand.

"Alex Drake," I replied.

"You have a good handshake," he commented, smiling at me.

"Thanks. It was the first thing my dad impressed upon us."

Remus frowned thoughtfully. "If you don't mind my asking, where are you from?"

I sighed.

"You don't have to say," he hurried to assure me.

"No, it's fine," I said resignedly. "It's just that that is the first thing every single person I met has asked me, and I'm already tired of repeating the same thing over and over again. So. I transferred from the Salem Witches' Institute in Oregon, because my dad works at the ministry and he got a new job, so I'm here."

"What do you think of Hogwarts so far?"

"I've been here for maybe two hours," I pointed out. "Ask me again tomorrow."

* * *

**A/N: I appreciate the people who followed or favorited MiB, but I would be even MORE grateful if you people could review too. When you follow/favorite, I know that you like the story, but not which parts. If you review, on the review, on the other hand, I know exactly what to do more of and what to do less of. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Man in Black**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

I busied myself unloading my suitcase into the small closet and dresser each of us were allotted, listening to the chatter of the other girls and trying to learn a bit more about them.

And then I fell into bed.

I woke up an undeterminable amount of time later to dim sunlight striping my face through the crack in my bed hangings. I stretched, feeling tired but not tired enough to fall back asleep. I glanced at the digital alarm I had positioned on my nightstand. Seven o'clock. That meant classes started in two hours.

I'd been in bed early enough the previous night that I decided to go ahead and stay up.

I grabbed some underwear and jeans and hurried into the bathroom. I'd been so tired last night that I barely glanced at the bathroom. I inspected it now.

Black and white tile. Bathtub on the far end, shower stall on the other side. A row of five sinks against one wall.

I hated to admit it, even to myself, but this was a whole lot nicer than the bathrooms at the Institute. Before turning on the water, I pointed my wand at the door. "_Muffliato Dormiens._" I luxuriated in the shower until my fingertips wrinkled, and then I stepped out, wrapping myself in a fluffy towel as I brushed my hair. I sang Beatles' songs under my breath while I teased out the knots. After finding that my hair looked better when I let it air dry than when I blow dried it, I always left it wet, even in the dead of winter. I took the spell off the door and re entered the dorm.

Grabbing a small spherical glass bottle from my nightstand and opening the cap, I spritzed the insides of my wrists, the hollow of my neck, and my hair. The fine mist settled on my shirt, and I inhaled, breathing in the comforting scent of cinnamon.

I stepped into my shoes and slipped out the door.

There was no one in the common room, but I wasn't surprised. The sun hadn't even fully risen yet, and anyone in their right mind would still be asleep.

Being the only one in the room, I had my pick of cushy chairs, but instead I stretched out on the carpet on the far side of the room, in the shadows. The carpet near the fire was almost suffocatingly warm. Lying on my back, I stretched my arms over my head and yawned.

Several comfortable minutes later, I felt rather than heard footsteps approaching me, and I opened my eyes to find the tall, lean figure of Sirius Black looming over me.

"What are you doing, Drake?"

I'd forgotten about the British habit of addressing one by their last name. "Lying on the floor," I replied pleasantly.

He sat down on a couch next to me and rested his chin on his fists, watching me. "Any reason?"

I avoided the question slightly. "Everything I do is for a reason."

"What's the reason for this?" Damn, he was good.

"There is none."

He smirked. "I thought everything you do is for a reason?"

"That's what I want you to think."

He regarded me, but didn't answer, and I closed my eyes again.

I eventually stood and wandered over to the bookshelves in the corner, running my fingertips over the spines and choosing one at random. I flopped down on the floor again, propped up on my elbows with the book before me. I cracked the spine to the first page and began to read, very aware of the silent figure on the couch. My eyes slid over to him involuntarily whenever I finished a paragraph.

The room was fully light and I had just reached the fifth chapter when Sirius sighed heavily. I glanced up at him. He stood and stretched slightly before making his way up the stairs. All without saying a second word to me. I watched his retreating back with raised eyebrows, then went back to my book.

* * *

A long time later I glanced at my watch. Damn. Already eight. I slid the book back on the shelf and hurried up the stairs to the dorm just as my alarm went off. I pressed the off button twice for good measure and made my bed. First the white sheet. I pulled the black blanket off. Having woken at some point in the middle of the night unable to move due to the fact that my legs were tangled in said blanket did not make me very inclined to keep it. I dropped it on the floor, straightened the gold and red quilt and stuck the blanket in my closet without folding it.

As I turned back, it struck me that the comforter was the ugliest thing I had ever seen. Shiny, crinkly gold squares and red felt rectangles. There were even _tassels_ on the edges. I shuddered. It hurt to even look at it. I took out my wand. This would be elementary material transfiguration. I concentrated on the properties of cotton and moved my wand in the designated pattern. Stroking it, I discovered that is was indeed cotton. Perfect. I did the same thing, now thinking of one large shape, instead of those irregular patches. The ugly gold and red were there, but now the crooked seams had vanished. Color charms now. I didn't concentrate on anything in particular, just waved my wand and then peeked at what happened. Streaks of silver and black wove their way through a deep blue background. The streaks were scarcer towards the edges, instead seeming to twist inwards to approximate a whirlpool. It was absolutely beautiful.

I grinned triumphantly and stepped back to transfigure the bed hangings, as well. They weren't quite as bad as the comforter had been, but still weren't pretty. I finished the hangings and decided to change the curtains on the window above my bed. I would leave the other curtains for the other girls to do, if they wanted to.

Sitting on my (much nicer than before) comforter, I looked through my bag. At home, everyone used backpacks, but the awkward distribution of weight and odd shoulder straps had always annoyed me, so I bought something that looked sort of like an old-fashioned mailman's bag, shrunk it, and stuck it in my pocket until I needed it.

I pulled it out now and enlarged it, rifling through. Notebooks for all my classes, pencils, textbooks. I had everything.

Now I had a dilemma. Should I dress up a bit for the first day? I summoned my suitcase and looked for a dress or at least some nice shirt. All I found were two dresses. I didn't usually fuss too much (or at all) with my appearance, which was evident when, after digging through my suitcase, I found exactly two casual dresses and one nice shirt. So I was pretty much restricted to jeans and a t-shirt. But let's face it, it's probably what I would have worn anyway.

I pulled on a slightly newer pair of jeans the ones I was currently wearing, but decided to leave my shirt.

Lily stirred and sat up in the bed beside me. "Good morning," she yawned. "What time is it?"

"Eight fifteen."

Lily nodded and shuffled into the bathroom. She emerged a few minutes later looking a good deal more awake.

The first thing she saw were my hangings. "Wow! What did you do?"

"Made them less hideous."

"They are ugly, aren't they?" Lily agreed. "You did what...transfiguration for the material and seams and then...a color changing charm?"

"Yep."

Lily pulled out her wand and a few moments later, her bedspread was a rich, emerald green background with a white lily in the center. The hangings were the same.

I grinned. "Nice."

"Thanks for the idea. Now let's go down for breakfast."


	5. Chapter 5

**The Man in Black**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

CHAPTER 5

Breakfast at Hogwarts was AMAZING. They had everything. I bet even the president of the US didn't have this many breakfast options. Lily was almost done before I had even chosen what to eat. I had a blueberry and banana smoothie, a scrambled egg, cinnamon toast, milk, and the BEST bacon I have ever eaten. It was heavenly.

I had finished everything but the smoothie when James, Sirius, and Remus arrived. They slid into the seats across from me and Lily.

Lily glanced up briefly and then went on telling me about her sister as if no one had sat down in front of us. I smiled at the boys, and then proceeded to ignore them as well. "So my summer wasn't all that good. I did go shopping with Alice a couple times, though, which made it at least bearable."

"That sucks," I said sympathetically at the same time as James said,

"Why didn't you come to my house, Lily? I told you you're welcome to."

"You told me that in fifth year, James."

"The offer still stands. You should come for part of Christmas break."

"I could..." Lily said dubiously.

"You should!" James said eagerly.

"I definitely wouldn't go alone. I'd need the company of another girl to keep me from losing my sanity."

I bit back a smile. Even if she wasn't doing it intentionally, Lily certainly knew how to string James along.

"Bring Alice, then," James said impatiently.

Lily took a bite of toast and shook her head. "She's visiting some family in Australia. She'll be there all break."

"Well, who would you want to come with you?"

"Hmmm...I hate to ask so much of you, Alex, but would you be willing to join me?" She winked at me.

"I'd definitely have to ask my mom first. She might have something planned. Family togetherness time, you know." I fought not to smile and give us away.

"I'll have to ask my parents, too. I'll owl them after classes."

"Why don't you do it now?" James suggested

"Blink's in the owlery."

"Use someone else's."

"Whose?"

"Alex's."

"I don't have one," I interrupted.

Sirius finally looked up from his plate, eyebrows raised in disbelief. "How do you not have an owl?"

"You typically don't need to owl your family if you live with them, which I did until...exactly seventeen hours ago."

James interrupted before I even finished my sentence. I talked over him, and when I finished he said, "So you Flooed to school every day? Or apparated?"

"I walked."

He goggled. "How far was it?"

"Less than a mile."

"How long is a mile, again?"

Geez. I opened my mouth to answer, but Remus beat me to it. "About two kilometers."

I looked gratefully at him. "Thank you. Now, if you're done with the questions, I'd like to finish my breakfast."

They fell silent- but only for about ten seconds. Then James started pestering Lily to owl her mother again. Lily evaded the question, choosing instead to say, "Oh look, Professor McGonagall's handing out schedules."

I didn't pay any attention to what was going on for a minute as I pored over my schedule for the day. Transfiguration first, then Charms, then Potions, then two free periods. Decent for my first day.

I turned to Lily. "What do you have?"

She handed me her schedule, and I glanced over it. Transfiguration, charms, potions, free, free. Exactly the same as mine.

"They're exactly the same." I must have sounded a bit bemused, because Remus answered me, "All the seventh year Gryffindors have classes together. Not enough people are in the advanced level classes if we're split up."

I nodded, poking my last piece of egg with the fork and popping it in my mouth. "Makes sense." I pushed my plate away, and Remus stood up.

Everyone else sort of stood up at the same time, and I followed them out of the hall, hurrying a bit to catch up. "Where's the Transfiguration classroom?"

"It's easy enough to find- straight down the hall and the sixth door to the left after the tapestry of a green knight."

I nodded, burning the words into my brain. Straight down the hall and the sixth door to the left after the tapestry of a green knight.

Lily stopped suddenly. "You don't have your bag, Alex!" She didn't wait for me to answer, but continued. "We don't do much on the first day, but you don't want to get off on the wrong foot with the teachers. Is there time to go back to the Tower?"

I interrupted her gently, "I have it, Lily."

She glanced around. "Where? Did you leave it in the Great Hall?"

"Lily, shut up for a second." She closed her mouth, and I pulled from my pocket the piece of cloth smaller than a Galleon. I tapped it with my wand and whispered, "_Grandiosa_."

It ballooned outward into a proper-size bookbag, and I dangled it in front of her face, my arm protesting at the weight.

"Shrinking spell. I just carry it in my pocket until I need it, at which point I enlarge it."

"That's smart," Lily agreed. "I should have done something like that ages ago. I did a lightening spell instead."

"That's a good idea, too."

Remus coughed and glanced at his watch. "Class starts in five minutes."

"Oops.." Lily hurried into a classroom, and I realized that is was the sixth on the left after the green knight. Transfiguration.

Sirius and James sat together, Remus and a plump blond boy sat together, and Lily slid into the seat next to mine. Lily and I sat in silence. My palms sweated slightly. I wiped them surreptitiously on my jeans and enlarged my bag.

I strained to hear James and Sirius' quiet conversation behind me when Professor McGonagall swept into the classroom from a door in the back.

"Quiet."

The room fell silent instantly.

"Your entire life after Hogwarts depends on this year. If you do well on your NEWTs, you will have your pick of jobs. If you don't do well...your life will not be quite so enjoyable." She stepped to the blackboard in the front of the room. "We will begin with a review of the last six years. Elementary transfiguration, as well as more advanced." She twitched her wand and a list of spells appeared on the board. "Practice these. I will be around to check your work. You may work with the partner at your table. Materials are in the basket on the middle table."

"I'll get them." I hurried to the middle of the room and retrieved various household items. Needle, pen, plate, bottle of wine, and a stuffed raccoon. I dropped them on our desk. "Do you want to start?"

"Sure." Lily muttered the spell. And the needle turned into a match. She continued until all the items were something else, and then transfigured them back.

"Very good, Miss Evans." Lily started and looked around. Professor McGonagall stood behind us and made a mark on a piece of parchment. She looked up expectantly at me. "Miss Drake?"

I hadn't had any cause to do real magic in several months, and I missed it. As an added bonus, Transfiguration was my favorite subject. I gripped my wand lightly, feeling a surge of eagerness rush through me.

I said the spell clearly. The needle turned into a matchstick. I pointed the wand at the stuffed raccoon and glanced at the board, scanning what I was supposed to do. An eagle. My wand twitched, and the raccoon morphed into an eagle. I breezed through the rest and then looked expectantly at the stern lady.

"Very good, Miss Drake. Have you by any chance begun live animal transfiguration?"

I nodded. "Last year."

She pulled a white mouse, squeaking and wriggling, from within her robes and set it on my desk. "Turn in into a rat." I waved my wand, whispering the spell. "Now a cat." The rat morphed into a cat. "Pig...bush...snake..." (a girl shrieked as the snake slithered across my desk) "...pencil...full wine bottle...and mouse again."

She dispatched the mouse back to her robes. "Have you begun human transfiguration?"

I hesitated, not wanting it to seem like I was showing off. "Not formally, but I worked privately with my teacher, so I do know how."

"Thank you, Miss Drake. That was excellent." She strode to the next desk, where a terrified-looking student trembled and stuttered.

Lily and I sat chatting and randomly transfiguring objects until the bell rang. I crouched to retie my shoe, and when I straightened, Sirius Black stood watching me. "You know, Drake, I reckon you might be almost as good as I am." He grinned crookedly at me.

"I'll choose to take that as a compliment."

"Good choice."

I moved toward the exit and paused at the door to let Sirius through first. "Ladies first," he bowed elegantly.

"I don't know the way to the charms room," I said plainly.

He nudged my shoulder slightly with his, turning me to the left. "It's this way." A shiver went through me and I let my hair fall slightly to hide my warming face. I was pretty sure I had just blushed for the first time in two years. But why?

* * *

**A/N: The rest of this week and weekend I have high school open houses every day, two babysitting gigs, three big projects due, a violin concert and a piano recital. I will obviously not have much time, so it may be a couple weeks before the next update. Sorry!**

**Reviews make me a better writer and you a happier reader. (Hint, hint)**


	6. Chapter 6

**The Man In Black**

**CHAPTER 6**

* * *

I walked down the hall, unobtrusively studying Sirius. I ran my gaze over the curve of his cheekbones, the shape of his nose, and the firm line of his jaw.

"You're watching me."

I turned my head straight ahead, focusing on a painting of a volcano. "The only way you would know whether I was watching you, which I wasn't, would be if you were watching me." I had to bite my lower lip to keep from smiling. I'd wanted to use that retort for YEARS, but I'd never had an opportunity.

"I was."

I turn to him, raising an eyebrow in question. "Any reason?"

"Just enjoying the view."

I didn't give a physical reaction, but the person inside was running in circles with its arms waving screaming, 'help! Help! What do I saaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy?'

I panicked internally. What the hell was I supposed to say to that?

"How nice of you," I said drily. "And, pray tell, is it particularly scenic?"

As soon as the last words hopped out of my mouth, I realized they didn't make much sense. Hopefully he would just think he had misunderstood.

"I see no reason to tell you."

"I'm sure you don't."

I strode down the hallway, not having noticed, in my irritation, that Sirius was no longer by my side. "Charms classroom is right here, Drake."

I spun around. "I knew that." I winced internally as soon as I voiced the words. That was the most childish retort I had ever used.

Sirius grinned at me. "I'm sure you did."

I didn't deign to reply, just entered the classroom. Lots of heads swiveled to look at me. I slipped into the seat next to Lily and dug around for my wand. I purposely looked in the wrong pocket of my bag so I wouldn't have to show my face to the people staring at me.

I finally 'found' my wand and straightened, pretending to read the writing on the board. I leaned closer to Lily. "Everyone's staring at me, aren't they."

"For the most part, yes," she whispered back.

"Lovely," I muttered.

"Hey, new girl?" I slid my eyes and spotted a blond boy sitting a row back and a few seats to the right.

"Who's he?" I breathed to Lily.

"Jeremy Sands. The biggest ass in the school. He treats girls awfully, like we're trash, only existing to fulfill his sexual pleasure. It's sickening, really."

"You don't like him?"

"I _hate_ him," Lily hissed.

I ignored this Jeremy just to see what would happen.

"Oy, new girl!"

I turned, eyebrows raised. "Are you talking to me?" I did my best to give myself a slight British accent.

"Yeah. You're new, aren't you?"

"No. I most certainly am not."

"You're...not?"

"I have been in your classes for six years, and if you don't know who I am, I see no reason to talk to you." I spun to the front, hair whipping dramatically behind me. I leaned toward Lily again. "Decent?"

"Terrific." Her eyes danced. "He deserves it, and worse."

This got gears turning in my head. I'd always enjoyed pranking, but Christina and Ellen outdid me so fantastically that I hadn't managed to do much.

The door opened, and I tucked the thought in a mental file folder for future reference. A tiny teacher with white hair and a long beard hurried into the room. I swear, he was at _most_ four feet tall. He stood on the chair behind the desk and began the roll. "Here," I called when he said my name.

"That's Flitwick. He's really lenient," Lily informed me.

"Today we will be going to be reviewing last year's charms. You may work in a group and perform several of these charms on each other. A list of last year's review charms is in your textbook on page four. I will be around to see your progress," he squeaked.

"This is the same as Transfiguration," I noted, pulling out my textbook. "Are all of the first classes going to be like this?"

"They never have before, so I'm assuming that it's only because you're new. They probably want to test you."

"Yeah, I figured."

It was a relatively normal class, almost exactly like charms at the Institute. I did my charms, Flitwick said, "Perfect," the bell rang, we traipsed down to the dungeon. I sat down by Lily. James whispered with Sirius and Remus for a minute, then came forward, looking slightly nervous.

"Do you want to work together?" he asked her.

I smiled.

"I was going to work with Alex..." Lily trailed off. I could see she needed a push, and I gave it to her.

"No, it's fine. Work with him. I'll just work with..." I glanced around the room. "Ummm..."

"I usually work with Sirius. You can go and keep him company," James supplied.

I smiled again. "Will do."

I moved back a row, plopping myself onto the wooden seat. Sirius shot a look at me from beneath his curtain of hair. I raised my eyebrows.

A round man with a bushy mustache waddled into the room. A glance at my schedule told me that this was Professor SLughorn.

"Settle down, settle down," he called jovially. He gestured with a thick arm to the blackboard behind him, which was covered in white chalk. "There's been a slight change of plans today...one of the first years tripped and spilled a bucket of newt's eyes that have to be cleaned up before my next class. Copy down these notes...and I promise next class will be more interesting." He vanished through a door behind his desk, presumably leading to a storage closet.

I sighed and began copying down the notes, even though I had learned about basic versus acidic ingredients.

* * *

(lunch)

"Why didn't you play a prank on the school yesterday?" Although the question was directed toward all three boys, Lily looked at James as she spoke.

James grinned mischievously. "We're planning something-"

"-bigger and better," Sirius finished.

"What are you going to do?" I asked curiously.

As James opened his mouth to reply, a group of younger girls from the Hufflepuff table approached and stood behind me.

Sirius scowled at them. "Do you need something?" They giggled, and one swooned. The girl in the lead fluttered her eyelashes and said in a breathy voice,

"We do, actually. We'd...ah...like to talk to the new girl."

I didn't look up from my mashed potatoes. "The new girl has a name, you know."

"Ah...sorry," she said hurriedly. "Um...ah...what is it?"

I bit my lip to keep from smirking. "Confidential."

"Umm...okay." I think I might have scared the poor girl, because she motioned her friend to start talking.

"Why are you here?" she said boldly.

I deliberately misinterpreted the question and said "I got hungry."

"I mean _here_. At Hogwarts."

"Seeing as it is a magic school, I think it would be safe to assume that I am here to learn."

"But you're not British! You're American!"

I looked at her for the first time, swiveling around on the stool and standing up. I noticed in the back of my mind that I had at least two inches on this girl. My voice was cold and hard. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Yeah. You shouldn't be here," she said bluntly.

I sat back down slowly. "And why, pray tell, is that?"

"You Americans have your own dumb schools. You don't have to come to ours just because they're better."

"Actually, I hate to break it to you, but my school was a whole lot better than this," I fibbed. "And seeing as I have a European passport, you really can't call me American any more. Wouldn't you agree, Lily?" I looked at Lily, knowing the others, being pureblood, probably wouldn't have any idea what a passport was.

"Yes, definitely."

I put an expectant expression on my face and looked up. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to finish my lunch without further interference."

They hurried away.

"Jesus," I muttered. "They're annoying."

Sirius made a noise of agreement, but Lily was completely silent. My mind flipped back and landed on a particular comment I had made. "...my school was a whole lot better than this..."

Sure enough, before a minute had gone by, she asked "Was your school really better than this?"

I grinned reassuringly. "Nah, I just thought that might get rid of them."

"You haven't told us anything about yourself at all, really," Remus said suddenly.

"Well, I have only known you for about 24 hours, now. But what do you want to know?"

"Any siblings?" Lily asked.

"My brother Will is fifteen."

"Why did you come here?"

"Dad got transferred."

"What does he do?"

"Muggle office, at the International Ministry of Magic."

"What's your blood status?" Sirius wondered.

Ugh. That question always got me. "I don't exactly know."

"You don't know whether your parents were magical?" James asked disbelievingly.

"Well, neither of my parents are, but both my grandmothers are, and all of my great-grandparents were, and none of the two generations before that, and my brother and I are. What would _you_ call that?"

"Confusing," Lily grinned.

I laughed, and then was promptly attacked by more questions.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Green and gray."

"Favorite animal?"

"Not sure."

"Favorite spice?"

I raised my eyebrows at Lily "Spice? How do you think of that?"

Lily blushed slightly. "Just answer."

I thought for a moment. "Cinnamon, rosemary, and peppermint, even if it's technically not a spice."

"How long have you had glasses?"

"Since before first year."

Your brother isn't at Hogwarts, is he?"

"No."

"You did say he was a wizard, right?"

"Yep."

"Where is he?"

"He's at Durmstrang."

Sirius leaned forward. "He's at _Durmstrang_?"

"I'm reasonably sure that's what I just said."

"They're all about the Dark Arts there..."

I winced internally, because that thought had crossed my own mind all too often. I struggled to keep my voice even. "We looked at Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons. I chose Hogwarts, he chose Durmstrang."

"And your parents let him choose that?"

"It's his choice," I snapped.

"But it's not in his best interests."

"That has nothing to do with me."

"So you're saying you don't care about your brother."

"I'm saying that I'm not in charge of him! I trust him to make his own choices without me suffocating him!"

"So you'd rather have him put himself in danger than give him one sentence of advice?"

"I told him what I thought, and then I let him make his own decision." I _thought_ that my tone of voice made it perfectly clear that the subject was closed. Either I didn't, or Sirius was extremely oblivious. Or maybe he was just ignoring me.

"It was a bad decision."

I looked at him, keeping a calm mask over my face. "What's it to you?"

"Just curious about your motives," he replied smoothly, leaning back in his seat.

"Well, don't be!" I said furiously, leaning forward. "I don't _like_ where Will is, and I wish he were here, but I know him and trust him. You don't know him at all, so shut up!"

"Ermm...why didn't you guys play a prank yesterday?" Lily asked, very obviously changing the subject.

James looked slightly relieved and answered something about suspense and tension and unexpectedness and marauders. I wrenched my thoughts away from Will and forced myself to listen, turning my back to Sirius.

As I did, I caught a glimpse of him through my peripheral vision. He was smirking.

* * *

**A/N: Not much happens in this chapter, but I thought it told more of what Alex's character is like. Also, at the end you get a little more of her background. **

**Review if you like it or have any advice!**


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